STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Paul Bridges, Mayor of Uvalda, Georgia, has joined a civil lawsuit challenging the new immigration law
- He says the law could tear apart the local economy and family structure as people live in fear
- He says the law makes helping and undocumented driving in the community a criminal offense
- Bridges: The law is un-American, unconstitutional, extreme and an invasion of privacy
Editor’s note: Paul Bridges is the mayor of Uvalda, Georgia, and a member of a class action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and other organizations to block Georgia’s new immigration law, House Bill 87. come into force from July 1st.
(CNN) — Many are surprised to learn that a conservative Republican mayor like me is involved in a civil rights class action lawsuit against my state. Yet I am proud to participate in this challenge to Georgia’s harsh Papers Please law, which runs counter to America’s greatest values and threatens to wreck my city’s economy.
HB87, signed into law by Republican Gov. Nathan Deal last month, would authorize Georgian police to require proof of citizenship from criminal suspects who do not carry approved identification, and would also impose criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly arrested an immigrant without Papers housed or transported.
This law terrifies all skilled workers and anyone associated with them. It will allow officials untrained in immigration issues to arrest and investigate anyone of their choosing. It threatens to tear families apart – spouses and children of citizens risk permanent separation from undocumented loved ones; Grandparents will lose their grandchildren if a family is forced to leave Georgia.
People challenging this law come from all walks of life, but we all believe we must fight this broad attack on our fundamental freedoms and the local economy.
Georgia Mayor: Immigration law abominable
April 2011: GA passes immigration law
Although the law has not yet come into effect, its impact can be seen on farms across South Georgia. In Uvalda and neighboring towns, it’s not uncommon to see farmers struggling to find enough hands to pick the last of their Vidalia onions, gourds and berries.
Local businesses will soon be deprived of reliable income provided by the workers – both undocumented and undocumented – who contribute to our economy. Many farmers in South Georgia fear the picture will look much bleaker if the law goes into effect on July 1 as planned.
A farming couple in Graham is sleepless from worrying about not being able to repay the federal loan to start their berry business. They fear they won’t have workers to pick their berries, a job machines can’t do.
I ran for mayor of Uvalda in 2009 because I wanted to see my city become a fairer and more prosperous place. With only 600 residents in our town, we know each other pretty well. We take our friends with us and don’t ask for their papers. During harvest time we open our homes to those who work in the fields. Several farmers provide housing for workers. Even family friends have stayed at my own house during blueberry season.
Under the new Georgian law, these simple neighborhood activities could turn into criminal acts. If I miss my turn signal or my speed while escorting other parishioners to church, and I commit a traffic violation with an undocumented person in the van, I could end up with a criminal conviction. If I don’t check the papers of friends who live with my family, I could be charged with housing an undocumented person.
This shocking government interference in its own private activities is why Republicans like myself are fighting to keep this vile law off Georgia’s books. Other Republicans, like Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, understood this problem; Even former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue sees the problem. I don’t feel alone with this attitude.
In addition, the law imposes a naked order that will significantly drain any city’s resources. Instead of focusing on their mission to protect and serve, our law enforcement officers will now be forced to rent space to detain anyone working or living undocumented in Uvalda.
In other words, we take someone who has previously contributed to our economy and pay to house them in a prison far from the community. No one knows how long it might take to process the prisoner and then be picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This is not the fiscal conservatism that my party is supposed to promote.
Worse, the men and women who have friends or family members who are undocumented are less likely to call the police as witnesses or victims of crime — and that makes us all less safe.
Simply put, Georgia law will deprive my city of its economic livelihood and deny the people who live here the right to ride with their friends, host family members, or engage in other daily activities without government intervention. Every American who values freedom, privacy and prosperity should fight this unnecessary, unconstitutional and extremist law.
I know families who are leaving Georgia — a state they have called home for 15 years or more — rather than separating their families.
A Latino father who was born in Texas told me last week that his family lives in fear of what will happen if he is arrested and charged with transporting an illegal alien – his wife. He said his family cannot call 911 if an emergency occurs at their home. His extended family members are also affected. These are real people in fear.
Although those fighting this law have been portrayed as left of center, on Monday I will proudly stand with them and ask the court to recognize that this law violates the values my Republican Party often promises to protect. Uvalda, like cities throughout Georgia, has too much to lose for me to stay out of this fight.
The opinions expressed in this comment are solely those of Paul W. Bridges
